California Issues First-Ever Mandatory Water Cuts

California Governor Jerry Brown set mandatory water restrictions on Wednesday for the first time in the state’s history, as a result of the four-year drought that shows no signs of decreasing. Cities and towns now have to decrease their water use by 25 percent, however, the mandatory cuts are stated to not affect the water usage in farms.

“It’s a different world,” Brown stated during an inspection of much-lower-than-normal snowpack in the Sierra Nevada mountains. “We have to act differently.”

California is experiencing its worst drought in recorded history. According to NASA, groundwater is at its lowest level in 65 years, similarly to many reservoirs, which are at record lows.

The mandatory cuts seemed “inevitable,” says a snow scientist with NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California: Tom Painter. “This year was one of the worst on record for snow accumulation in the state.”